Anyone caught with five grams of heroin in the state of New Jersey was charged with intent to sell. The cost had wiped out half of Johnny’s savings excluding his equity in his house but it was a bargain. The only other solution he could conjure was killing the twins and Victor and Johnny simply couldn’t contemplate it. He could rationalize putting murderers in a prison to protect Nadia. Couldn’t he? But taking a life—any man’s life—was an entirely different matter.
He had two double bourbons to calm his nerves before he went to sleep. As he drifted, he comforted himself by reviewing the to-do list that defined his existence. He’d vowed to protect Nadia by removing Victor from her life. Bobby had set up Victor by telling Iryna he’d mailed the locket to Johnny, which was a lie. It was with his possessions in jail. Check. He’d promised to secure Bobby’s freedom. The DA wanted to talk. It was just a matter of time. Check. And he’d assured Nadia he’d find out the truth about the locket from Bobby. Check.
There was nothing left to do but get the girl.
CHAPTER 58
NADIA AND MARKO returned home on Sunday. Marko drove home to Connecticut. Nadia dumped her bag in her apartment and burst into action. Her primary objective was to help secure Bobby’s freedom. Her secondary objective was the locket.
Nadia called Johnny and told him everything she’d learned about Valentine’s past. She presented her evidence in a way that would help Johnny persuade the district attorney that the dead man had been a sociopath. She recounted Headmaster Darby’s stories of his horrific conduct at the Felshire School, and described his sordid relationship with his stepmother, Natasha. Both of those sources would verify that young Valentine had been self-indulgent and ruthless. He was also an avid hunter with his father’s bent Cossack morals and quick temper.
The district attorney was not surprised by Johnny’s revelations. He gave Johnny full discovery of the state’s case. It turned out Valentine had been arrested twice since moving to New York. Once for assaulting a female passenger who pushed him to get onto a crowded train, and a second time for threatening to kill a man for not thanking him for holding a restaurant door open for him.
The Fordham hockey coach signed a sworn statement that he saw Valentine and Bobby collide in a hallway after a hockey game. Valentine reacted furiously, the coach said. The odd thing was that he appeared to have initiated the contact. Iryna corroborated the story after a brief discussion with Johnny, who offered to help her earn American citizenship as long as she stayed away from Bobby.
The district attorney wasn’t sure which event incited Valentine—the girl’s rejection or the bump with Bobby. It didn’t matter. It was apparent that Valentine became obsessed with exacting a measure of revenge. He followed Bobby one night when he was going to meet Iryna for a date and attacked him. Bobby defended himself with the only weapon he had on his possession, a screwdriver. The district attorney asked Johnny why his client was carrying a screwdriver. Johnny responded with a sliver of truth. Bobby had been locked in a trunk as a child. The event had traumatized him, and he’d been carrying a flashlight and the tool that could have secured his release ever since. The kid had issues. Which of us was perfect? Johnny said.
That was the only part of Bobby’s actual childhood that needed to be revealed. The witness saw the fight, watched Bobby walk away, and stole the knife and rifle. The latter showed the magnitude of Valentine’s sickness. It was as though he was hunting a human being, the district attorney said. He’d prepared himself to shoot from a distance or kill at close quarters. The district attorney also admitted his star witness was not a bastion of integrity. He’d earned a poor reputation during his brief stint as a cop, primarily for abuse of power. He’d been asked to leave the force or face an investigation for accepting a bribe. The witness had been clean since then, though he seemed to live beyond his means as a part-time security guard and actor.
The district attorney dismissed the murder charge based on the self-defense law. The force the defendant used was immediately necessary. His life depended on it. The force used against the defendant was unlawful. Valentine was trying to kill Bobby. And the amount of force was appropriate. Valentine was trying to stab Bobby with a hunting knife. Bobby responded accordingly. It was unrealistic to expect him to not inflict potentially lethal damage.
Bobby Kungenook was scheduled to be released four days after Nadia returned from Ukraine. Johnny never mentioned anything about Hart Island. The only evidence that Bobby had been there was his left shoe. It was destined to remain in the factory among the women’s shoes until the building was destroyed to extend the public cemetery. Bobby’s true identity and the incident in Chornobyl with Valentine and his parents were never revealed. The only people who knew his real name was Adam Tesla were Nadia, Marko, their mother, and Johnny.
And Victor Bodnar. If he was still alive.
Nadia thought of the old thief as she leaned against Johnny’s car waiting for Bobby to emerge from behind prison doors. She had an appointment with a radiobiologist later in the afternoon to review the chemical symbols inscribed in the locket. Johnny stood beside her.
“You know what’s surprising?” Nadia said.
“What?” Johnny said.
“That Victor Bodnar didn’t turn up during all this.”
Johnny didn’t say anything at first. “Victor Bodnar. Haven’t heard that name in a long time. Why are you worrying about him?”
Nadia shrugged. “I’m not worrying. I’m just saying. I held my breath when he vanished last year, hoping he’d never turn up looking for some alleged debt for me to repay. For all I know, though, he may be back in Ukraine. Or he may be dead.”
“Yeah,” Johnny said, staring at the prison doors. “Could be either of those. Or maybe something else happened to him. Whatever the case, you don’t need to worry about him anymore.”
Johnny’s confidence struck a chord with Nadia. “You know something I don’t know?”
“Yes. I know that life is on the upswing for you now. You should relax and enjoy it. Spend time with the people you care about. And care about you.”
“Listen to you. Since when have you become so mellow?”
“Time passes. A man looks around and sees what and who are important to him.” Johnny paused and looked into Nadia’s eyes. “Am I wrong?”
Nadia smiled. They turned toward the prison doors. Smiling was a strange sensation. It wasn’t a momentary reaction to something funny. It was a smile based on hope. The expectation of happiness. She couldn’t remember when she’d last enjoyed the sensation.
“No,” she said. “You’re not wrong. You’re right.” She thought of Simmy Simeonovich, imagined choosing his entrée in a New York City restaurant. “Could you imagine me dating a Russian billionaire? I can’t imagine what would be stranger. That he’s Russian, or that he’s so rich.” She glanced at Johnny.
A shadow crossed his face. Nadia did a double take. Johnny? Jealous? Of someone who might want to date her? Preposterous. She’d met two of his girlfriends. They were to sex appeal as she was to the quadratic formula.
“Somehow, I think you’ll get used to the money. As for the Russian part…” Johnny grinned. “Like I said. I think you’ll get used to the money.”
Nadia laughed, as much at herself as at Johnny’s retort. Clearly her imagination had run away from her.